Aisle-illuminating means



L. ROTH.

AISLE ILLUMINATING MEANS.

APPLICATION H LED OCT. 6, 1920.

Patented June 20, 1922.

Original application filed May 20, 1920,

UNITED STATES ParsNr oFFlcE.

LOUIS ROTH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR T STERLING BRONZEJCOMPANY, OF

- NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LOUIS ROTH, a subject of Austria-Hungary,"residingat New York, borough of Bronx, and State of New York, have invented'acertain new and use ful Aisle-IlluminatiggMeans, of which the followingis a specification.

This mvention g e rtains ato means for illuminating aislescifgaifiitofiums and the like, such as opera houses, theatres, churches,and other places of public assemblage, in-

.cluding moving picture exhibition places the display of pictures inwhich requires the auditorium to be in semi-darkness, whereas thepatrons are accustomed to enter and leave the auditorium during theperformance. Under such conditions it is often a matter of someconsiderable incon- 'venience for the patrons to traverse the aislesseparating the rows of seats, particularly should the aisles be providedwith steps, and again it is frequently a matter of inconvenience in thesemi-darkness for the patrons or' the ushers 'to locate a'particular rowof seats bearing a specific designating letter or other character.

The subject matter of this application constitutes a division of myprior application Serial No. 382731 filed May 20, 1920, in which theaisle illuminating means is associated, more or less directly, withventilating means, the latter acting primarily to directthe infloyvingair into the aisles so as gto avoid the more or less disagreeablesensais illuminated'without permitting the light tion of warm or coolair flowing into contact .with the occupants of the seats.

According to the present invention the aisle separating two adjacentrows of seats rays to pass upwardly for dispelling the semi-darkness inthe auditorium deemed desirable for the display of illuminated pictureson a screen.

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from thefollowing'description taken in connectionwith the draw- Specification ofLetters latent.

all as referred to in my prior application.

The upright member E of theseat next to the aisle rest e,,provisionbeing made on said upright end member E for hingedly supporting'the seatD at d, see Figures 1 and 2.

Patented June 20, 1922.

Serial No. 382,731. Divided and this application filed October 6, 1920.Serial No. 415,024.

is provided as usual with an arm In carrying the invention into practiceas disclosed in my prior application, the ven tilation of the auditoriumaridKthe illumination of the aisle are obtaine y an association ofelements related more or less directly one to the other, namely, theinflowing air from flue B is directed through a grille F rovided withinthe limits of the end member of the seat so that the air flows into theaisle C, such control of the inflowing air being obtained by a fluemember. G, the said flue member, or a part thereof, affording means,such as hood H positioned over a source of light, (i. e. an incandescentelectric lamp 1) for directing the rays of :light downwardly upon thefloor of said aisle C. It is thus apparent that the light deflectilig--member (or the reflector) 1s a hood unitarywith the air-directing fluemember G, and that said parts H and G together with the source of lightI are in cooperative relation to an end member E of the row of seats;but it is to be understood that I do not restrict my improvement in theaisle illuminating means to the described asso-- ciation with theventilating means, for the reason that such illuminating means may beemployed independently of the ventilating means, although for somepurposes it is desirable to associate or combine the two said means intoan installation or structure unitary in character.

As shown, the hood H is arched in cross section, and it is positionedbeneath the. arm

6 of chair member'E, the said hood opening downwardly and outwardly withreference to aisle. C, see Figure 2. Beneath the hood is positioned thelamp I, the latter being in a plane intermediate the top edge of grilleF and the overhanging hood H. The undersurface of the hood is formed orconstructed 'acter, and said plate is illuminated by to serve as areflector, or a separate reflector may be provided on said hood, wherebythe reflecting surface directs the rays of light downwardly toward andoutwardly into aisle C, whereas the hood H performs the function of ashield for precluding disper- 'sion of the light rays upwardly into theaisle,

thus. precluding the light rays from passing upwardly into. the faces ofthe patrons. As shown in Figure 2, the free end of the lightencasinghood terminates in a plane about or below the level of the filament ofthe incandescent lamp, but while the hood preeludes the passage of thelightrays up wardly into the semi'darkened auditorium, its relation tothe lamp is such that the rays of light will be directedoutwardly intothe aisle, and also toward the passageways between the rows of seats,thus affording means for the suflicient illumination of the floor in thearea comprised in the aisle and adjacent the passageways between therows of seats.

The light deflecting hood H, together with the flue member G, areinstalled permanently with reference to the seatmember E, said member Gand hood H being fixedly attached in position in my approved manner. Thehood occupies a compact relation to the member E, below the arm 6thereof, the free edge of said hood protruding to a slight extent beyondthe plane of the outer face of the end member, thus disposing the hoodout of the way of persons walking in the aisle. The lamp I is supportedby suitable means on the end member E or the hood H, and said lamp iswired for the transmission of the current required to furnish the energyfor said lamp.

It is desirable to afford means in a dark ened auditorium for readilylocating the seats. Ordinarily, the seats are indicated by lettered nameplates, darkened auditorium requires the use of flash lights, the samebeing highly objectionable to the occupants of the seats. In thisinvention I provide the hood H with a slot or opening for the receptionof a transparent or translucent plate of glassJ, the latter beingprovided with a designating character, as shown in Figure 3. The nameplate is composed, preferably, of ground glass provided with the letteror other charthe lamp I, the latter thus affording means forilluminating the name plate as well as the aisle. The name plate isexposed on the end member and below the arm rest, and it is sopositioned that while it can be inspected from the aisle with ease andfacility the I illumination afforded by the lamp is not within the viewof the occupant of the seats. 'Having thus fully described theinvention,

what I claim as new and desire to secure by tending member positionedinthe vertical plane of said end frame and occupying the opening therein,an imperforate member po-.

sitioned in a plane inclined tov said vertically extending member and inopposing relation thereto, said imperforate member being provided at theupper edge thereof with an arched hood which extends through saidvertical opening to occupy an overhanging relation to said verticallypositioned member, and a source of light partially encased within saidhood the under surface of which reflects the light rays forwardly withrespect to said vertically positioned member.

2. A theatre chair embodying an end frame, a vertically extending memberpositioned in the vertical plane of said end frame, an inclined memberin opposing relation to said vertically extending member and positionedon the inside of the end.

vertically extending member, said imperforatemember extending downwardlyfrom the end frame and inclined to the vertical plane thereof, a hoodunitary with the imperforate member and extending transversely to theend frame to occupy an overhanging relation to the vertically extendingmember, and a lamp positioned intermediate the vertically extendingmember and the hood the under surface of which hood reflects the rays oflight from said lamp downwardly and laterally with respect to thevertically extending member.

In testimony whereofI have hereto signed my name this 23rd day ofSeptember, 1920.

LOUIS ROTH.

to locate which in a forate member in opposing relation to the

